Lynch’s newest project is centered around the examination of the core themes seen in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the success of and reactions to the novel. The project is a collaborative process between theatre, film, and design in order to retell a story that is well known but not well understood. Lynch stated she wanted to bring her voice to the multiple identities and concepts presented in the story through subverting the imagery around the novel by bringing them into contemporary contexts. She talked about how she was toying with the idea of using recurring gestures in the imagery around Uncle Tom’s Cabin in her work, an element that one does not truly get from the book. I think the most important element in this project and something that caught my attention was the idea of melding two narratives, the historical and contemporary legacy of racism and race, into a cohesive piece that will bring the audience into some sense of awareness. The idea has something for everyone whether they are interested in history, media, art, culture, or literature. There are so many levels to her idea that I wish I could be a part of the process. But besides learning about her work and her experimentation into different forms of media, the biggest takeaway for me was her emphasis of scholarship as an important factor in creating. Scholarship in the creative process is something I had never though about, but when dealing with certain issues she point out that it is almost a must. In Lynch’s own words, “Don’t get caught ignorant”.
